Frederick w



No, 612,!64. Patented Oct. II, I898.

- F. W. HEDGELAND.

SELF PLAYING INSTRUMENT.

(Application filed Dec. 17, 1897.)

(No Model.)

WITNE'SSEGZ' IN VENTOI?! IQ for organs having more than one manual.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK WV. I'IEDGELAND, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE IV. WV.KIMBALL COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SELF-PLAYING INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 612,164, dated October11, 1898.

A lication filed December 17,1897. Serial No. 662,313. (No model.)

of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Self-PlayingInstruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is designed to provide a practical construction ofself-playing mechanism In it I employ a separate tracker-range for eachmanual or organ embraced in the instrument-one, for instance, for theswell organ and one for the great organand arrange such ranges one inadvance of the other and combine with them a single music or valvesheet. In order that this single sheet may be used, the openings in theranges are staggered with reference to each other-that is,

2o the openings in one tracker-range are placed in planes lying betweenthe planes of the openings in the other tracker-range, and the sheet isperforated correspondingly, so as to bring the perforations for eachtracker-range 2 5 into planes corresponding in position to the planes ofthe openings in that range. The tracker-ranges are separated from eachother a suflicient distance to allow the placing of a guide-such, forinstance, as a roller-beo tween them, such roller serving to draw themusic-sheet down between the ranges, and thus insuring close contact bythe sheet with the tops of the ranges. It will be understood, of course,that the perforations in the sheet 5 representingsimultaneously-sounding notes in the two tracker-ranges will be locatedin different transverse planes upon the sheet, such planes correspondingto the relative locations of the tracker ranges and conseoquentlysomewhat widely separated upon the sheet. It will be furtherunderstood that each range is connected to and controls the soundingdevices of its corresponding manual in the ordinary manner. By the useof these two-manual instrument by simply narrowing the orifices of therange-openings and the perforations in the sheet a trifle from the widthheretofore given them.

In the accompanying drawings .1 show at Figure 1 a partial plan of thetracker-ranges, asheet adapted to be used therewith, and thesheetsupporting andcontrollingrollers. Fig. 2 is a vertical section ofthe parts shown in Fig. 1.

In said drawings, A represents a trackerrange of the ordinaryconstruction connected to the action of one of the manuals and operatingto sound the pipes ordinarily sounded by the keys of that manual, and Bis a similar tracker-range connected to the action of the soundingdevices of the othermanual and controlling the sounding of the pipesordinarily sounded by the keys of that manual. One of these ranges islocated in advance of the other in the line in which the music-sheetmoves, and they are separated from each other to avoid interference withone another and a sufficient distance to give room to a suitable guidingdevice-such, for instance, as the idler-roller O--between them, thepurpose of such roller being to depress the portion of the sheet betweenthe ranges, as shown, and thus obtain a close contact of the sheet withthe ranges.

D is the music-supplying roll, and E the take-up roll, one being drivenwhile the instrument is playing and the other during the rewinding.

The music-sheet is indicated at F, and its course will be plainlyunderstood from the drawings.

The openings in the tracker-range A (seen at A) are located in planeslongitudinal of the music-sheet lying between the planes of the openingsB of the range B, and the music-sheet perforations are cutcorrespondingly, so that the perforations intended to operate one rangeshall not affect the other range, but instead will move between theopenings of the latter without producing any action. The perforations Fin the music-sheet intended for the tracker-range A are of courselocated at quite a remove upon the sheet from the perforations Fintended to produce simultaneous action by range 13. In other words,

the simultaneously-soundingnotes of the two ranges are located indiiferent transverse planes of the sheet, separated from each other bythe length of that part of the sheet lying between the tracker-ranges.

After the music-sheet is inserted in the instrument and the guide-rolleris positioned over the same the operation is precisely similar to thatof the one-manual self-playing instrument as now constructed and needsno description.

I claim-- 1. The combination in a two-manual selfplaying instrument of atracker-range for each manual, one range located in advance of the otherin the line of the movement of the music sheet and the two ranges havingtheir openings staggered with reference to FREDERICK \V. IIEDGELAND.

lVitnesses:

EDW. S. EVARTS, II. M. MUNDAY.

